About jnt13

The Truel was a rehash of the classic one that sent Russell Hantz at the hands of RI Master Matt. They had to essentially make a domino string, despite some pole obstacles hindering their movements, and have the string make it all the way to the end to release a ball to break a tile. Oh, and it’s a bazillion degrees in the Philippines. Candice rocks another Truel and finishes first. Marissa and Rachel take close to an hour to find out who else survived. Marissa’s dominoes barely beat Rachel’s to keep her around for another Truel next week.

And so, because of the fun with Culpy hate, and Colton hate, we have the big blindside dropped a bit lower in the recap. I think this blindside was incredibly unnecessary, and pretty stupid for the Loved Ones to do. Was John a threat in the long term? Yep. But they are not playing a long term game – in fact, their short term is pretty dire. You cannot assume a tribe shuffle – even if it is probably pretty likely. They have to start winning. Think about the men matchups – Culpy, John, Caleb, Hayden and Vytas vs. Gervase, Tyson, Aras. That’s actually a decent advantage for the Family tribe. The women are where they are getting their asses kicked. So, take out another woman and hope that you can use your physical advantage to win something.

But that’s not what happened. We get Culpy getting worried about the idol. Which is ridiculous. Where is John going to go? To the last woman standing? Is he going to flip to the Faves at the merge? There is no real logic to this move. The other thing Culpy worries about is John linking back up with Candice if she returns to the game. Really? That’s even worse logic. First, Candice has a bunch of truels to win first and foremost – that is NOT good odds for her. Second, isn’t the fear of loved ones linking up again a threat for ALL of them that still have a loved one in the game? Including Culpy!

Now, John is out and at RI with his wife and Marissa. And as we see from the previews – she is PISSED! At best, only one Cody survives to rejoin the game. So, yes, Culpy stamped out one mini alliance. Let’s see what happens with Hayden and Kat. And Vytas and Aras. And, yes, the Culpeppers. And, in addition, Culpy is making enemies all over the place. If the Family loses again, the best move for them to make is to turn on him and hope to cut deals at the merge. Yes, they will get weaker again this way – but after cutting John and still losing, really, how much more could you lose than all the time!

Last, the Challenge. I like the American Gladiators challenges and this one was no different. Two people on a circle floating in the water. They each get a padded weapon and have to force the other in the water. First team to 5 wins. Comfort or fishing gear to the winners, as well as immunity.

1 – Culpy vs. Gervase – Finally, Culpy gets to hit Gervase. Meh. Gervase holds tough, but Culpy is much stronger. 1-0 Family.
2 – Mrs. Rupert vs. Katie – Katie is pretty fierce here, but she’s got some toughness. 1-1 tie.
3 – John vs. Aras – Aras struggles here and John shows exactly why you need him on this wall. 2-1 Family.
4 – Ciera vs. Kat – In this matchup…oh wait, it’s over. Ciera is down quickly. 2-2 tie.
5 – Hayden vs. Tyson – After a big hit, Tyson is down quickly and has his shoulder pop a bit. After Dr. Ramona fits him with a small sling, he’s good to continue with the season, just not the challenge. 3-2 Family.
6 – Tina vs. Katie – Ooooh. Mom vs. Daughter. Tina is all smiles through this one and it is a GREAT battle. Eventually, the craftiness of Mom wins. 3-3 tie.
7 – Aras vs. Vytas – Ooooh. Brothers! Vytas talks some smack and then after Aras is willing to let him up so they can re-start fresh, Vytas goes for the ankles. Don’t matter. Aras wins. 4-3 Faves.
8 – Ciera vs.Laura. More Mom vs. Daughter. Laura is in tears. I guess Tina likes to fight her kid more. Ciera tells her this isn’t hurting her. And she goes down. 5-3 win for the Faves.

It comes down to John deciding to take out Ciera because Katie cooks better. But as he searches for the idol, the Five Guys alliance crumbles with Culpy leading the charge. The best part – him trying to convince the guys that they should vote for John, while he votes for Ciera, so that John doesn’t get pissed at him. Wow. Boy, I hope that was a badly edited joke.